At Auction Bay, we love to see Sterling Silver items. Silver brings bids from collectors, jewlers, scrappers, as well as those who desire an item for its intrinsic value. Often, Sterling Flatware in both old and new styles can bring some impressive sales. But when you combine the precious metal value with a sought-after pattern from a reputable maker, you get a huge final price!

That was the case recently when we were pleasantly surprised to see a 98-Piece Sterling Silver Flatware set sell better than we expected! The set was made by Towle, a respected manufacturer (with its own category on eBay, incidentally), in the much-desired Old Master pattern. This set, in excellent condition and in its presentation box sold for an amazing $1,800.50!

When we accept a Sterling service set, we treat it with the same attention as a piece of jewelry, taking detailed photographs inside our light box. This showcases the pattern and the condition of the silverware, and gives the potential bidders a great mental picture of how the set would look in their hands and on their dining room table. We also include photos that show the weight of the set (atop a digital scale). This gives additional confidence in the value of the lot, and by pitting the bidders who desire silver for scrap value or collection versus the bidders who want the flatware set for a gift or to match their own set, we can manage top dollar for auctions like this!

Here we bring you news of a strong sale for one of the finest pieces in a new consignor’s collection. This Hobby Horse came from the Desilu corporation, made just like the one in Little Rickie’s nursery on the I Love Lucy television show! Talk about product placement! What better way to advertise a great toy than to showcase it on your own TV show?

Our consignor not only had the rocker horse in excellent shape, but also brought the original magazine advertisement to sweeten the pot. Little extras like these can make a huge difference in a sale, and we were pleased to see this horse sell for $153.00 at auction.